11 April 2011

Press release

Picture the scene: a group of 10 bikers seated on their saddles, holding up copies of the Viral Bible like an Olympic torch. At 9.30am on Thursday, 14 April, these men - members of the Christian Motorcycle Association - will start the epic journey of the first set of Viral Bibles, beginning at Spring Harvest Festival in Butlins, Skegness.

Over the next 12 months more than 200 Viral Bibles, published by Hodder, will be given away to random people at major Christian festivals and events. Each person receiving a Viral Bible will be asked to underline the verses that are most meaningful to them before passing the same copy on to another person who will then continue the process.

Each Viral Bible has a unique code printed on the cover, so that you can log onto www.viralbibleproject.com key in the number sequence and track its journey, as well as draw inspiration from other people's chosen verses. It is hoped that each copy of the Viral Bible will travel the length and breadth of Britain and beyond before returning to the London head office of the Evangelical Alliance in Easter 2012.

The Viral Bible Project is a year-long campaign aimed at illustrating how the Bible continues to influence, inspire and direct people's lives 400 years after King James published the authorised version. The Viral Bible Project is just one among scores of projects organised by Biblefresh.

Biblefresh was set up to encourage people to rediscover scripture in new and creative ways and is co-ordinated by the Alliance, with the involvement of more than 100 other agencies.

DrKrish Kandiah, of Biblefresh, says: "Although I grew up in a Hindu family, I felt compelled to read the Bible for myself and when I did so, I was amazed to discover how scripture is able to inspire hope, promote justice and change lives. It is our prayer that as people up and down the country and abroad will read these Viral Bibles, they will share their experiences as well as inspire and encourage one another."

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Notes to Editors

The Evangelical Alliance We are the largest and oldest body representing the UK’s two million evangelical Christians. For more than 165 years, we have been bringing Christians together and helping them listen to, and be heard by, the government, media and society. We’re here to connect people for a shared mission, whether it’s celebrating the Bible, making a difference in our communities or lobbying the government for a better society. From Skye to Southampton, from Coleraine to Cardiff, we work across 79 denominations, 3,500 churches, 750 organisations and thousands of individual members. And we're not just uniting Christians within the UK – we are a founding member of the World Evangelical Alliance, a global network of more than 600 million evangelical Christians. For more information, go to www.eauk.org.